Intercompany have recently attracted a great deal of attention in the business literature. Benefits to companies from developing relationships with customers, suppliers and other counterparts, possible allies, are usually emphasized. These benefits are certainly important and deserve to be explored further. At the same time one cannot avoid noticing that there is a lack of studies of the problems or difficulties with close relationships. Of course, there are a large number of studies analysing market solutions, i.e. the case with no relationships, but that is another question. We mean that business entail costs and problems that warrant some attention. While business can be a valuable resource for a company they bring in, at the same time, severe limitations to what the company can do. Close can easily turn into a for one or both of the involved partners (as we so well know from own personal experience). Relationships, thug, have both a huge benefit and a huge potential. In order to understand better we have to look at both sides. The paper explores and illustrates the burden of focusing both on basic factors and episodes that make the burdening consequences large and acute. It is argued that the of is the other side of the benefit potential. It means that the risk for a relationship to become a can never be escaped, it is the automatic consequence of the development of a fruitful relationship. And the potential is no argument against the need to develop but it is important to realize in order to have realistic expectations.
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